Jennifer

Jennifer Granholm, host of The War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV, upon visiting a Chinese conference on energy told this story:

Chinese officials were bragging about their solar companies and how they’ve been able to attract so many companies from the United States. One official pulled her aside and asked, “’So when do you think the United States is going to get a national energy strategy?’”

“And I [thought to myself] ‘Oh Pete’s sake: Tea Party, Congress, so divided…’ and this is what he did…” (she rubs her hands together conspiratorially). “He says, ‘Take your time,’ because they see our passivity as their opportunity. So every single day, these guys are going after our businesses. Not just Chinese.”

What she said is that the Chinese (among others) are luring AMERICAN companies into their countries. Why? Because they can do it better, cheaper, with less fuss.

She said that Singapore and Sweden are excellent at pooling their resources to attract investors/companies. They have the universities, government, and private sector all working together. They call this triad the “Golden Triangle” (Singapore) or the “Triple Helix” (Sweden) and they have Economic Development Strategies that:
1. Identify their strengths as a country
2. Target investors and businesses for investment by: streamlining permitting, giving ready access to capital so that they can get their technology working, and help businesses link up to the supply chain, clustering around the expatriate company.

What these countries are doing is no different than a company courting investors. They have to make themselves attractive, and they are doing such a good job that OUR OWN PEOPLE TAKE THEIR MONEY OUT OF THE U.S.